Fire ravages Toms River house, family escapes injury

For the second time in just over a month, a Toms River house fire rages out of control, this time leaving a family unhurt but devastated.

Kathleen Court house fire (Toms River PD)

Firefighters, police, and emergency medical technicians responded to an emergency call at 3:04 PM and sped to 1776 Kathleen Court, where they found adults and children inside scurrying to safety.

A woman said that the flames broke out on the lower story, and were climbing the stairs.

Police spokesman Ralph Stocco said that in the five minutes it took first-responders to arrive, flames had begun to burn out of control in the back of the dwelling. Investigators surmised that a large family lived in the home, but did not speculate the total number.

Kathleen Court house fire (Toms River PD)

Fire investigators plan to work through the night to trace the cause and origin. Firefighters from the Pleasant Plains, East Dover, Toms River 1 and 2, Island Heights, Lakewood and Manitou Park companies pooled their efforts to knock it down.

On February 14, a blaze that enveloped a house on Fiddlers Run in Toms River took the life of a woman trapped inside.